Karen Holder | RealiTeen

Tia Bandavanis

My name is Tia and I'm very excited to join the Realteen team. I am a fun-loving, caring, and colorful person. I begin and end everyday with a smile. There is only one man in my life and that is my 15 yr. old son John. It's been my job to raise my son from a young age through his teen years. I am a single mom and I feel as though I have done my best to help my son become a responsible young man. I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in the Maryland and D.C. area. I moved to Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1992. I now consider myself to be a native. I miss family dearly but find ways to visit often. My home and heart is here in Onslow County. This is pretty much due to the fact that I have raised my son here and found it to be a great place to live. I currently teach preschool at a local preschool. I have been teaching for over 20 years. I love children of all ages and could not imagine myself doing any other profession. I enjoy outings with my son to the movies, watching football, visiting local spots such as the Lynwood Park Zoo, going to the beach, and canoeing along our local rivers. I look forward to writing and reading the blogs. I feel this is a great opportunity to explore my parenting role and others. Parenting my teen son has been very rewarding and challenging. However, I have learned that being an effective parent is about learning and growing along with my son!

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I’m Karen, a stay-at-home mom of two girls, one 16 and the other 18. While I know it’s unusual for a mom to still be out of the work force with kids these ages (especially when the money would really come in handy!), I think it’s been the right choice for our family. It’s nice to be available to the teens during the day and to be able to keep an eye on things during those afternoon hours. (Can you hear my girls gagging and groaning while they’re reading that?!) I am a constant embarrassment to my kids in so many ways…the things I wear, say, do, like. I am so skilled at embarrassing them that I don’t even have to try hard at it. I’m hoping someday they’ll look back and think of me as fun and spunky and creative rather than just horribly strange. I love all things creative and crafty, spicy food, diet soda (possibly love to the point of addiction?), fresh paint, and casual clothes. I hate doing laundry, attending meetings, and getting dressed up. (If I’m wearing heels and a dress, there’s probably either a wedding or a funeral!) If you’re looking for someone who’s an expert parent who has all the right answers, you might want to read someone else’s posts. But if you’re looking for someone who is out there struggling every day to get it right, I’m your girl.

Sunscreen Expiration Dates

August 5th, 2010 Karen Holder

The Sunscreen Collection

I’ve been on my soapbox once this week already about the use of sunscreen (read that post here), but I wanted to add one more practical tip about sunscreen before I stepped off …
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Sunburned

August 3rd, 2010 Karen Holder

Way too red after a day at the beach!

I’ve been thinking a lot about sunburn and skin cancer this month because of two things that are going on in my life. First, a good friend of mine …
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If Life Gives You Tomatoes…Make Some Salsa

July 31st, 2010 Karen Holder

I’ve always said the only thing better than tomatoes fresh from your own garden is a big bag of tomatoes fresh from a friend’s garden! And the other night Lexie’s friend Kass stopped by with a surprise gift of a …
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Welcome Home, Katie

July 29th, 2010 Karen Holder

Well, it’s official. Katie, my 15 year old daughter, survived cheer camp. And so did I. I wrote last week about trying to get her ready to go (you can read that here). And getting myself ready to let …
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Have License, Will Travel

July 27th, 2010 Karen Holder

Leaving the garage alone for the very first time! (Not feeling too patient with mom wanting to take pictures!)

One of my fellow bloggers recently wrote about teens that are reluctant to drive (you can read that …
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